Athletes revealed three technical goals that the coach of the first national football team, Portuguese Paulo Bento, seeks to achieve during the upcoming participation in the Arabian Gulf Cup (Gulf 26) scheduled in Kuwait from the 21st of this month to the third of next January, pointing out that these goals are represented in competition. won the Gulf title, and won the third championship in its history, in addition to that the tournament will be the best preparation for the national team for the remaining four rounds of the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, especially since During this tournament, the team will play strong official matches, in addition to the fact that the tournament will also be an opportunity to prepare some players and give them the opportunity to play in an important tournament.
They told Emirates Today: “It is very important for Coach Pinto to keep his previous main elements on the expected list that he will participate in the Gulf Championship, because he does not have time to introduce any new elements, except in exceptional cases such as injuries or emergency circumstances.”
The team is expected to begin its preparations for the Gulf Championship after the 10th round of the ADNOC Professional League, which will conclude next Tuesday.
“Al-Abyad” will play in the Gulf Championship in the first group, which includes alongside it the teams of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, while it will begin its journey in the tournament with the current Qatar 21 match.
Technical goals
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ittihad Kalba Club, Muhammad Obaid Al-Yamahi, saw that the team is going to the Gulf Championship not only as preparation for the remaining rounds of the World Cup qualifiers, but rather he is looking forward to competing for the Gulf title, especially since we now have a strong team that can compete for the Gulf title. As well as reaching the World Cup, especially after the addition of new elements that represented a real addition to the team in the recent period.
Al-Yamahi said: “The Football Association’s Board of Directors, headed by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, has made everything ready for the national team, which now has a great chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.”
Regarding the fear of some people about the team’s participation with its basic elements, which may expose its players to injuries, especially as it is approaching important matches in the World Cup qualifiers, Al-Yamahi stressed that he is against the idea of not participating with the basic elements due to fear of injuries among the players, stressing the importance of the team’s participation with all its elements. The basic elements, pointing at the same time to the importance of including specific elements of new faces, to create the desired addition to the team.
Real setting
The former national team supervisor, retired international player, Dr. Hassan Suhail, considered the team’s participation in “Gulf 26” as part of the team’s preparation program for its remaining matches in the World Cup qualifiers, especially its expected match against Iran in the seventh round of qualifiers, stressing the importance of The Football Association gave coach Paulo Pinto sufficient opportunity to prepare the team optimally for the next stage.
Regarding the possibility of the technical staff selecting new elements to participate in the next edition of the Gulf Cup, Hassan Suhail stressed the importance of retaining the previous elements with the possibility of adding a very limited number of new players to the team, provided that they have demonstrated well with their teams, given that Pinto does not have the time. Enough to test new elements.
Hassan Suhail said: “As a former international player, and I participated in this tournament with the national team in more than one tournament, the atmosphere of the tournament itself puts the players under great psychological pressure, considering that any match in it is important.”
Regarding the extent of the development of the team’s level in the past period, and the impact of this on its upcoming journey in the Arabian Gulf Cup, Hassan Suhail confirmed that “Al-Abyad” is in a state of development, as evidenced by its positive results in recent matches.
He pointed out that the team’s match against Iran in the World Cup qualifiers is a crossroads for the team and brings it closer to qualifying for the World Cup, stressing the importance of the team continuing to perform in the coming period at the same level it showed in Qatar’s last match in the World Cup qualifiers.
New items
The former Al-Nasr football team manager, Khaled Obaid, said in response to a question about whether the national team coach, Pinto, could add new players to the list to participate in the Gulf Championship, saying, “The lack of time and the approaching start date of the tournament does not allow the addition of any new elements, unless Exceptional circumstances occurred, such as injuries and others, and he stressed that he preferred to keep the previous elements, as they were at the top of their giving and technical level.
Regarding the possibility of using some of the players who recently obtained Emirati citizenship, whether in the Gulf Cup or the World Cup qualifiers, if the team needs their services, Khaled Obaid confirmed that they represent a good option for coach Paulo Bento if he sees the possibility of using them according to the team’s need, and according to specific positions. , stressing that Shabab Al-Ahly player Kartabia will be one of the available options, even though he plays in a position occupied by both Hareb Suhail and Lima. He pointed out that the team will face strong and fierce competition in this tournament due to the high technical levels demonstrated by the Gulf teams in the recent period. Khaled Obaid expected that the upcoming edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup would be technically better compared to the last three editions.
. .
